Bowling Green State University
Florida Atlantic
McLean and Evwaraye Score First Goals As Falcons Trump Owls
September 02, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2007
MIAMI - Underclassmen Thomas McLean and Chuko Evwaraye each netted their first collegiate goals as Bowling Green State University (1-0-1) posted a 2-1 victory over Florida Atlantic University (0-2-0) on Sunday afternoon at the FAU Soccer Stadium.
With the win, Bowling Green is off to its most impressive overall start since the 2003 season when the Falcons also tied their first match in a scoreless shutout against Cincinnati and bested UW-Green Bay 3-0. Additionally, the 1-0-1 record is the finest road start for the Falcons since winning twice to begin the away portion of the 1995 schedule.
"We were in a great area to vacation this weekend and the weather was perfect to relax on the beach, but not necessarily ideal to play," said head coach Fred Thompson. "The heat was taxing on our players but I feel as though we held-up well under the conditions."
At game time the temperatures reached into the high 80's but felt more like the mid-90's.
The Falcons, who met the Owls for the first time in program history this afternoon, added a bit more heat to the FAU Stadium early when sophomore Jacob Lawrence tested goalkeeper Phillip Lamarre with a header that was denied just 5:18 into the match.
Bowling Green continued to control the attack while creating scoring opportunities and had their first pay-off shot at the 28:23 mark when McLean, positioned on the right side of the Lamarre, slipped a diving header into the net for the Falcons' first goal of the match and the young 2007 campaign.
Despite not scoring on his own header, Lawrence was credited with McLean's helper.
"Jacob had a nice offensive outing today," said Thompson. "On more than one occasion he was able to draw the defense towards himself and drop a pass over their heads."
Of the active roster, McLean became the sixth player to score in his first year of eligibility under Thompson. Of those six, only sophomore Ahmad Smith netted a quicker goal. Smith's inaugural goal was scored in his first match with the team on Aug. 25, 2006 as the Falcons downed Western Illinois 2-1 (OT) at Mickey Cochrane Stadium. (Note: Cameron Hepple scored in his red-shirt freshman season after sitting out his first season with the Falcons.)
The Falcons extended their lead by yet another goal when Lawrence gave the FAU defense a bit of deja-vu crossing an eventual assist to Evwaraye just over a half-hour into the match (31:12). The red-shirt sophomore finished the afternoon with game highs in total shots (4) and shots on goal (2).
With their backs to the goal, the Falcons' defense held the Owls to four shots in the first period and a mere three in the second period allowing junior keeper Paul Shoemaker to face only two shots on goal for the day.
"Once again our defense had a solid outing," said Thompson.
"Garrett Bireline had an excellent second half responding to our request to play one-on-one defense against Diego Monsalve. He [Monsalve] is quite the player but despite being out of our preferred defensive shape, Bireline was very successful in shutting him down."
After holding all opposition scoreless for the first 161:44 minutes of the season, the Owls answered with a header of their own and was within a goal of the Falcons as less than a quarter of the game remained.
"To FAU's credit it was a very nice goal. They were able to utilize their size inside and took advantage of a perfectly shaped deep cross," said Thompson.
Bowling Green outshot the FAU 15-7 and were allotted four corner kicks in comparison to the Owls two.
On Friday, the Falcons will travel to the Fairfax, VA to face Thompson's alma mater, George Mason University. The Patriots will host the Falcons beginning at 2:00 p.m. Bowling Green will remain in the D.C.-metro area and will compete at American University on Sunday afternoon.
# BGSU SOCCER#
